Chinese, sushi restaurant moving to former McGrath’s spot
Downtown parking restrictions prompt move to N. Highway 97 location
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A prominent dining spot on Bend's North Highway 97 that's stood empty since McGrath's Fish House closed over three years ago will soon come alive again, and be offering up fish once again, as well -- but this time of the sushi variety.
The popular downtown restaurant, CHI | Chinese and Sushi Bar, will soon be expanding and moving to the roadside building in the Bend River Promenade. A full remodel of the restaurant space is set to take place this spring, with the intention of opening by summer.
Compass Commercial Brokers Russell Huntamer, Peter May and Tom Standish have had a longstanding relationship with the Bend River Promenade as the listing brokers.
Several tenants competed for the restaurant pad site, but the owners ultimately decided it was best to lease the space to a successful, locally owned restaurant. Once CHI’s owners set their sights on the Highway 97 location, the deal closed in a matter of two months, Compass said Thursday.
CHI is a family-owned and operated business. The owners come from an entrepreneurial background after starting up and selling multiple other restaurants in Bend.
CHI opened in 2015 in downtown Bend and has steadily grown over the years. "Due to parking restrictions at the downtown location, it became necessary to relocate the business so it could continue to thrive," according to the brokers.
The additional parking, the bigger space and the central location of the Bend River Promenade made the former McGrath’s Fish House the perfect site for their expansion. Huntamer commented, “The owners of CHI were great to work with and are very motivated to continue growing their business.”
Huntamer told NewsChannel 21 the landlords were “very selective. They needed the right concept, right improvement plan, the right rental rate. All the stars had to be aligned.”
“We did have offers from other tenants over the years,” he said. “We got really far with them, but for whatever reason, the deals didn’t go through.”
The Chi deal happened due to a number of reasons, including “better synergy” with the new tenants, he said.
Most recently, a national, Fortune 500 retailer had proposed tearing down the building and building a new one, according to Huntamer, who also was involved in the replacement of the closed Applebee’s across Highway 97, where a new building is going in for Aspen Dental and other medical businesses.
“It made sense to keep the site as a restaurant, for a whole host of reasons,” Huntamer said.
He said Chi has grown to become “one of the top-grossing Chinese restaurants in town.”
